"Henry James called Robert Browning (1812-89) 'a tremendous and incomparable modern', and the immediacy and colloquial energy of his poetry has ensured its enduring appeal. This biography sets out to do the same for his life, animating the stereotypes (romantic hero, poetic exile, eminent man of letters) that have left him neglected by modern biographers." "He has been seen primarily as one half of that romantic pair, the Brownings; and while the courtship, elopement and marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning remains a perennially seductive subject (and one Finlayson evokes vividly, quoting extensively from their daily letters and contemporary accounts) there is far more to Robert Browning than that." "This biography brings his milieu in England and Italy, his circle of friends (and enemies) to memorable, complex life, showing how he was very much a product of Victorian Britain and how and why he left. Chronological in structure, this book is divided into three sections which deal with his life's major themes: adolescence and ambition, marriage and money, paternity and poetry. Browning explores the many experiences that inspired his writing, his education and passions, his relationships, his continual financial struggles and revulsion at being seen as a fortune-hunter, his troubled feelings towards England and his own emigration, his most unVictorian approach to marriage, fatherhood and fame: all of which contribute to a fascinating portrait of a highly unconventional Victorian."--Jacket.